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Cosmic Era Nations and Factions
This article is about fictional nations and factions from the Cosmic Era timeline of the anime Gundam metaseries. In the future Cosmic Era, nation and states of today's Earth have evolved into a number of political superblocs. There are also numerous political factions. http://www.gundamofficial.com/worlds/ce/background/images/earthmap_a.gif Earth Alliance The Earth Alliance is the group of anti-ZAFT superstates on Earth. It is made up of four political entities: the Atlantic Federation, the Eurasian Federation, the Republic of East Asia and the South African Union. The Earth Alliance also conquered the PLANT-friendly United States of South America, with its member states now engaged in a revolution to regain their independence. The Earth Alliance was officially founded as a result of the Alaska Declaration on 7 February CE 70. The combined military forces of the Earth Alliance are called OMNI Enforcer, but are more frequently simply called the Earth Military (Chikyuu Gun). The Alliance is headed by a moderate Secretary-General, but the real rulers of the Alliance are Blue Cosmos and its LOGOS benefactors. The Earth Alliance and ZAFT started war on 11 February CE 70 after the EA's predecessor, the United Nations was wiped out by a terrorist attack in the Tragedy of Copernicus on 5 February. On 14 February, the Alliance used nuclear weapons to destroy the PLANT colony at Junius Seven, in what became known as the Bloody Valentine Incident. Unlike the Earth Federation of the Universal Century era which was a relatively unified body, the Earth Alliance is more of a loose international military confederation of entities that are often working at cross purposes to each other. It is not uncommon for each of the factions to not reveal the key workings of their weapon and armor technologies with their erstwhile allies - when the Atlantic Federation battleship Archangel docked at the Eurasian military base Artemis, the commander attempted to acquire by force both the ship and its GAT-X105 Strike mobile suit contingent in order to acquire the secret behind their designs. Later, when the Alliance headquarters, JOSH-A in Alaska, controlled by the Atlantic Federation, was mostly abandoned as a trap for ZAFT's invasion forces, the token defense force left behind as "bait" (completely unaware of the trap) consisted almost entirely of Eurasian troops. The Alliance developed several important military innovations during the war: the second-generation Mobile Operating System, Phase Shift armor, Lightwave Barrier, beam weaponry and the Mirage Colloid stealth system. In the wake of the Junius Seven colony drop disaster (Operation: Break The World by the Coordinator terrorists) in CE 73, the Earth Alliance declared war again on ZAFT, on the grounds that the drop represented the true intentions of the Coordinators toward Naturals, and the EA intends to wipe out the PLANTs and with them the Coordinators once and for all. However, the initial attempt to destroy the PLANTs with nuclear missiles resulted in a disastrous defeat when ZAFT's Neutron Stampeder destroyed an entire Alliance fleet with a single shot. Popular support for the Alliance was weakened after PLANT Chairman Gilbert Durandal exposed LOGOS, the organization behind the Alliance's Blue Cosmos rulers and vowed that ZAFT will destroy LOGOS and Blue Cosmos once and for all. After the destruction of LOGOS and Blue Cosmos, the Earth Alliance along with some ZAFT forces defect to the Three Ships Alliance to end the Second Bloody Valentine War. Atlantic Federation The Atlantic Federation is the largest and most powerful member of the Earth Alliance. It is also the country with the largest anti-Coordinator sentiments. Eurasian Federation The Eurasian Federation is a member of the Earth Alliance, second only to the Atlantic Federation in power and influence. The Eurasian Federation is a fusion of the European Union (minus Great Britain and Ireland) with other members of the Warsaw Pact, and the Middle East. Although allied against ZAFT, the Eurasian and Atlantic Federations have long been rivals, and a strong undercurrent of mistrust remains between them. Compare to the Atlantic Federation, the Eurasians are not strongly controlled by Blue Cosmos and are more tolerant of Coordinators in their own ranks. When the Archangel was docked in Eurasian Federation base Artemis, base commander Garcia made an offer to Kira Yamato that the Eurasians would protect him from his own people (Coordinators) if he would help them, something a Blue Cosmos member would never do. Another example is Special Operative Canard Pars, who was allowed to work for the Eurasians in exchange for his life. While the Atlantic Federation and with them Blue Cosmos also used Coordinators, their so called Combat Coordinators were mentally controlled by the Atlantic Federation. Canard Pars was not controlled mentally, though was placed in handcuffs because of his abilities and short temper. Garcia has also said that he hates Coordinators like Canard, but not Coordinators as a whole. Further examples include the hiring of Serpent Tail Mercenary, Gai Murakumo, who is also a Coordinator, into the ranks of the Eurasian Federation military. As a result, an assumption can be made that Eurasian Federation does not care if a person is a Coordinator or a Natural - all the matters is that the person is on their side. The Eurasian Federation resents its inferior position to the Atlantic Federation, which has been exacerbated by the Atlantic Federation's successful development of mobile suits. Eventually, the Eurasian Federation produces newer, even more advanced mobile suits of its own, such as the CAT1-X Hyperion series. The two rivals were evenly matched as a result; while Atlantic Federation completely outnumbered the Eurasian Federation, they technologically superior weapons. With the heavy losses the Atlantic Federation suffered in the last months of the war, the Eurasian Federation's influence in the Earth Alliance seemed poised to grow. After the first war they lost large amounts of territory to the Equatorial Union and ZAFT controlled African Community. During the colony drop of Junius Seven, the Eurasian Federation suffered heavily, with severe damage to many historical cities including Rome, London, Prague and Athens. Rome and Athens were hit especially hard; the Basilica of St. Peter and the Acropolis were both destroyed by debris hits. At the beginning of the subsequent second EA-PLANT war, many factions within the Eurasian Federation sought to withdraw from the Earth Alliance, which resulted in Atlantic Federation forces being deployed against those states. They did not have the support of the Eurasian main forces and thus were quickly defeated. It is also unknown that how many or which Eurasian states were against the war. The Atlantic Federation, at the command of Blue Cosmos/LOGOS, used the GFAS-X1 Destroy to maintain control of Eurasia, which led to even stronger anti-Atlantic and anti-Alliance sentiment in Eurasia due to the near destruction of Berlin and other smaller cities by the Destroy. The Eurasian Federation is lead by a federal council representing the various nations in Eurasia Because of the lack of information the exact political or military situations of Eurasia through the whole series is largely unknown, which raises a lot of questions under fans. The plausiblity of ZAFT being able to take over a big city like Berlin in a strong state like Germany seems questionable. A possible explanation could be that the Eurasian Federation is dominated by Russian forces and the other states are simply conquered secondary members. Note: The rivalry between the Atlantic and Eurasian Federations is a possible reference to the Cold War, as the Atlantic Federation capital is in present-day US, while the Eurasian Federation is predominantly Russian. Republic of East Asia A Federation consisting of the present-day nations of China, Japan, possibly Mongolia the Korean peninsula (North and South) with Taiwan and the third largest power of the Earth Alliance. Its spaceport at Kaoshiung, Taiwan was captured by ZAFT forces during the Bloody Valentine War. During this war it joins the Atlantic Federation and Eurasian Federation in the Earth Alliance against the forces of ZAFT. At the end of the first war, Kaoshiung was returned to East Asia. After the Chairman of PLANT Supreme Council Gilbert Durandal revealed the existence of LOGOS, in the later part of the second PLANT/Earth war, a big Naval fleet of East Asia separated from their Nations and allied themselves with ZAFT. When the Minerva returned to Gibraltar a large part of this fleet can be seen. However most of the fleet was destroyed later in the first wave against LOGOS stronghold Heaven's Base in Iceland. Judging from their positions in that attack it seems likely that ZAFT used them as shields to test the enemies attack power. South Africa Union Although a member of the Earth Alliance, the SAU is virtually powerless other than its possession of the Victoria massdriver. At the end of the first war the SAU controls most of Africa. The SAU is a puppet of the Atlantic Federation. United States of South America A nation which formerly controlled much of Central and South America, and collaborated with the Atlantic Federation in the construction of the Porta Panama mass driver. Before the outbreak of war, the United States of South America had aligned itself with the PLANTs and made arrangements to covertly exchange shipments of food and manufactured goods, and it refused to join the Earth Alliance once open hostilities began. On February 19, C.E. 70, Alliance forces launched an armed invasion of this nation, and its territory was annexed by the Atlantic Federation. After the First Bloody Valentine War ended, the USSA sought for independence, resulting in the South American War of Independence. The most prominent figure of this war was Edward Harrelson, an Earth Alliance defector, who was critically wounded in his last battle against Earth Alliance ace pilot Rena Imelia. When the Junius Seven Treaty was negotiated, the USSA became independent again but it does not have Central America in it's land area anymore. However when the second war started the USSA again allied itself with the Earth Alliance. OMNI Enforcer OMNI Enforcer (O'ppose '''M'ilitancy and 'N'eutralize 'I'nvasion) is the military force of the Earth Alliance. Unlike ZAFT, the military of OMNI Enforcer is tightly organized on a traditional model. Many top officers of OMNI Enforcer, mostly those from the Atlantic Federation (which dominates the Alliance after the disastrous Battle of JOSH-A) are also members of the Blue Cosmos anti-Coordinator group. OMNI Enforcer's space fleet is large and well-equipped, though their warships are slightly outdated compared to ZAFT's powerful fleet. Their mobile weapons until the Battle of Porta Panama are primarily limited to the Moebius mobile armor, a distinctly outdated design. Five Moebius MAs are required, on average, to engage a single ZGMF-1017 GINN with any significant chance of victory. At and after Porta Panama, the Alliance quickly replaces the Moebius with the GAT-01 Strike Dagger and related mobile suit models, redressing the balance and turning the tide against ZAFT. Known OMNI Enforcer space fleets are the 8th Fleet (decimated during the Battle of Orbit) and the 7th Fleet (decimated during the Second Battle of Jachin Due). OMNI Enforcer Ranks Blue Cosmos/Logos ''"青き清浄なる世界のために (Aoki seijō naru sekai no tame ni!) (For the preservation of our blue and pure world!)"'' - Motto of '''Blue Cosmos "Even now, hiding in the shadows of this war, without a doubt the LOGOS are there." - PLANT Supreme Council Chairman Gilbert Durandal Blue Cosmos is the most radical of the anti-Coordinator activist groups formed by resentful Naturals and is the ruling force behind the Earth Alliance. According to the Blue Cosmos ideology, genetic modification is a violation of the natural order, and all Coordinators must be exterminated "for the preservation of our blue and pure world." Though the political opinions of the Earth Alliance senior leadership generally varied, the Atlantic Federation leadership was primarily dominated by Blue Cosmos members, and after the elimination of most of the Eurasian military at the Battle of JOSH-A, Blue Cosmos controlled Alliance OMNI Enforcer by default. After this point, the Alliance's war effort changed from one of conquest to one of extermination, a change that a Patrick Zala-led ZAFT was only too happy to emulate. Blue Cosmos was originally an environmental pressure group, but after George Glenn revealed his secret in CE 15, they changed their emphasis to terrorizing and killing Coordinators. Many of the top echelon of Blue Cosmos, including its leader Muruta Azrael, were killed during the closing battles at Jachin Due. Unfortunately, this did not affect Blue Cosmos in any meaningful way - Cagalli Yula Athha's visit to ZAFT at the start of Gundam Seed Destiny is due in large part to pressure on the Orb Union from the Atlantic Federation, which is still partially controlled by Blue Cosmos, under the control of its new leader, Lord Djbril. In addition, there are growing evidences that Blue Cosmos may be nothing more than a catspaw for a shadowy military-industrial organization known only as LOGOS. However one LOGOS member, Matias Aducarf, betrayed his comrades and submitted information on LOGOS to Gilbert Durandal. With this information, PLANT Chairman Gilbert Durandal held a speech in which he revealed the existence of LOGOS to the entire world and afterwards, he declared that he planned to completely destroy this organization. Afterwards, ZAFT launched a campaign to destroy LOGOS and Blue Cosmos once and for all. Many people on Earth also started to attack the homes of LOGOS members and many of them were either murdered or forced to flee. They made their unsuccessful last stand against ZAFT/Alliance forces attacking Heaven's Base, their headquarters in Iceland. After the battle, Lord Djibril (the last remaining known member) fled to the Orb Union and afterwards to the Daedalus lunar base. From there he attacked PLANT with the superweapon Requiem in order to destroy the PLANT Supreme Council, however when the Minerva attacked, he was forced to flee on the Girty Lue. But before he could escape the ship was shot down by Rey Za Burrel, which also killed Djibril and thus the last remaining LOGOS member. :see also: ブルーコスモス Phantom Pain The Phantom Pain is a private army organized by the Blue Cosmos that operates under Logos, Blue Cosmos' supreme governing organization. Their official name is the 81st Independent Mobile Battalion of the Earth Alliance and specializes in black operations as well as missions that would run and turn out much better for the Alliance if there weren't any signs of its involvement anywhere. Phantom Pain was started to provide the Blue Cosmos with organized military strength, and it is mainly comprised of Alliance personnel and equipment. When goods and personnel are requested by Phantom Pain, the Alliance is expected to respond and accommodate for the request without delay. With this assistance, Phantom Pain is able to obtain all the provisions and furnishings they need and request for wherever they go, even though they fall only under the command of Logos and their representatives, and no others. However, even with this arrangement, the Phantom Pain remains shrouded in mystery even among many Alliance leaders. As a nonofficial paramilitary organization, the Phantom Pain is not bound by the Treaty of Junius and thus they have access to and utilize illegal technology like Mirage Colloid. And since they are funded behind the scenes by the Blue Cosmos, the equipment they get is radical but extravagant. PLANT PLANT is the name not only given to a new type of space colony but also to the independent nation which is made up of the cluster of these colonies. PLANT citicens mainly compose of Coordinators. PLANT Supreme Council The PLANT Supreme Council is an executive committee of twelve elected members, each representing a sector (or "city") of the groupings of the PLANTs. ZAFT ZAFT is a political, economic, and military alliance of the PLANT colonies. It was the first military to use mobile suits and was the power which fought against the Earth Alliance forces in both wars. Terrestrial Nations allied to ZAFT Oceania Union A nation composed primarily of Australia and New Zealand. The Oceania Union is allied with ZAFT, and one of ZAFT's two primary military bases on Earth, Carpentaria, is located there. At the end of the first war ZAFT is forced to give up its captured territories, as per the Junius Treaty. One of these area is New Zealand, as it would seem not all of Oceania wished to align with PLANT, and had to be suppressed by ZAFT. When the second Earth-PLANT war begins, the Australian half of the nation remains at PLANT's side, however New Zealand aligns with the Alliance, leaving the nation split in two. African Community A loosely-affiliated group of nations and tribesin the northern sections of Africa, the African Community is one of only two nations on Earth openly allied with PLANT, though there are resistance movements, including Desert Dawn. Supposedly its territory includes Gibraltar, where the second ZAFT's main military base is located. At the end of the first war ZAFT was forced to retreat from the many areas of the African Community that had been forcebly suppressed, as per the Junius Treaty. At the start of the second Earth-PLANT war these newly independent regions of the African Community aligned themselves with OMNI. Neutral entities Orb Union The Orb Union is a small Pacific island nation, located to the east of New Guinea which has a tradition of neutrality and thus is neutral in the war between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT. Kingdom of Scandinavia The largest of the neutral nations, Scandinavia composes the old Earth nations of Sweden, Norway and Finland (but not Denmark, which is traditionally considered a Scandinavian nation as the name of the Kingdom refers to the Scandinavian Peninsula). The Kingdom of Scandinavia is the birth place of Former PLANT Supreme Council Chairman Siegel Clyne. The kingdome of Scandinavia was one of the first nations to offer aid in the rebuilding of ORB after the attack from the earth alliance in CE 71. At the beginning of the Second Bloody Valentine War the Archangel hides underwater at the coast of Scandinavia. The king of Scandinavia and a selected few in the Scandinavian government are the only ones aware of this and keeps it secret. After Durandal's announcement of his Destiny Plan, the Kingdom of Scandinavia, together with the Orb Union, rejects the plan. Equatorial Union A union of weak Equatorial nations in Southeast Asia such as the Indian Subcontinent and the ASEAN including philippines. The Equatorial Union is largely neutral because its military is not worth incorporating into the Earth Alliance, with no space forces and no mobile weapons. After the first war they had gained land from Eurasia and at the beginning of the second war they joined OMNI probably to prevent a war with Eurasia, however, they may have seceded from the Alliance during the strife and instability within Eurasia. DSSD DSSD (D'eep '''S'pace 'S'urvey and 'D'evelopment Organization) is a neutral organization established for the purpose of "advancing the frontier" from survey and development of regions beyond the orbit of Mars. The Earth Alliance, PLANT and the other Neutral Nations all participated in its establishment. There are bases within both EA and PLANT. F.e. their Technology Development Center is located on the outskirts of Fortaleza, South America. They aim for the advancement of nations, religions and races. They are the creators of the GSX-401FW Stargazer, a mobile suit intended for space exploration. Independent Factions Clyne Faction The '''Clyne Faction started as the collection of PLANT politicians loyal to the ideals of Siegel Clyne, leader of the PLANT moderate faction. However, as the political situation in the PLANTs took a dark turn, the group switched to being an underground rebel faction composed of normal civilians and ZAFT soldiers, spawned as a result of Patrick Zala's extremist genocidal policies towards the Naturals. The Clyne Faction was initially commanded by former PLANT Chairman Siegel Clyne, but after his assassination, his daughter, Lacus Clyne, took over. Another prominent figure was Andrew Waltfeld, a much-decorated ZAFT commander. Their first major actions were the theft of the ZGMF-X10A Freedom and soon after the hijacking of the newest ZAFT capital ship, ''Eternal'', which was coincidentally assigned under the command of Andrew Waltfeld by ZAFT. Even though Zala is in charge of ZAFT and uses it to try and crush the Clyne Faction, the ease in which the Clyne Faction managed to steal the Freedom and the swift hijacking of the Eternal later on highlights the fact that the Clyne Faction likely has a considerable number of supporters within ZAFT as well. Three Ships Alliance The Three Ships Alliance was formed near the end of the Bloody Valentine War as a resistance force dedicated to ending the war. It consisted of the members of the Clyne Faction who had stolen the ZAFT support vessel ''Eternal'', survivors from the Earth Alliance invasion of Orb aboard the Orb battleship ''Kusanagi'', and the crew of the Earth Alliance assault ship ''Archangel''. The Three Ships Alliance takes up residence in an abandoned space colony for a little over two months, and then sets out to prevent the Earth Alliance and PLANT from annihilating each other. The Three Ships Alliance was instrumental in preventing an Earth Alliance nuclear assault on the PLANT colonies, and in preventing PLANT from using the GENESIS Superweapon from irradiating the Earth. After the Bloody Valentine War, the Three Ships Alliance (composed of the Clyne Faction, moderate elements of the Earth Alliance, and remnants of the Orb military) was changed into a covert moderate military and political organization once again operating under the Clyne Faction name. This new faction received aid from the independent intelligence group Terminal, strengthened in numbers and technology thanks to defecting Earth Alliance and ZAFT officers and appears to have thoroughly infiltrated the military command structure of every major faction. It is also implied that Terminal has very well-placed intelligence sources as information about current events such as the Minerva's departure time and the Destroy's rampage across Western Eurasia were received and sent to the proper people within a very short amount of time. Spawned for the same reasons as the Three Ships Alliance, to achieve and maintain peace and stability between Coordinators and Naturals; the Clyne Faction was lead by Lacus Clyne on the political side and Kira Yamato on the military end. Despite considerable military expansion by ZAFT and the Atlantic Federation (the strongest member of the Earth Alliance), Terminal too developed advanced military hardware with its large industrial base, which includes a secret underwater base and a mobile suit factory hidden in an asteroid. The ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom, ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice, and ZGMF-XX09T DOM Trooper, all of which were made by Terminal from technology originally developed by ZAFT, are generally on-par or even superior to their ZAFT and Earth Alliance counterparts. Towards the end of the Second Bloody Valentine War, Terminal and Terminal-allied forces consisted of one Archangel Class, one Eternal Class, three Izumo Class, two to three Agamemmnon Class, at least four Nelson Class, at least two Drake Class, at least two Nazca Class and at least two Laurasia Class warships. Their mobile suit forces were spearheaded by the Strike Freedom, Infinite Justice, Akatsuki, Gaia, and three DOM Troopers. The main body of their mobile suits were dozens of Murasame, Dagger-L and Windam mobile suits. History CE 71 After stealing the ''Eternal'', the Clyne Faction was joined by Orb's remaining military forces aboard the [[Izumo class battleship|''Izumo''-class battleship Kusanagi]], and the defected Earth Alliance [[Archangel class assault ship|assault ship Archangel]]. Both the newest ZAFT mobile suit units, the stolen Freedom and ZGMF-X09A Justice, had already joined the ''Archangel'', but were soon transferred to the ''Eternal'', which was equipped with the METEOR System, specifically built for those two units. However, thanks to the assistance of Reverend Malchio, the Three Ships Alliance was able to make contact with several peace-seeking groups in Orb and the EA, and the rest of the Clyne Faction headquartered in the PLANTs. Also, the group received a tender ship, the ReHOME, complements of Reverend Malchio and the Junk Guild. The new rogue faction became known as the Three Ships Alliance and secretly headquartered on the abandoned Mendel colony. Their purpose was to put an end to the war which was rapidly growing beyond all control, as both the Earth Alliance (now under the control of Blue Cosmos) and ZAFT (under the command of Patrick Zala and his radical extremist faction) now believed that genocide was the only way to achieve victory. This small fleet succeeded in saving the PLANT colonies from the Earth Alliance's initial nuclear assault, and Earth from the ZAFT's superweapon GENESIS. The Bloody Valentine War came to an end with the help of the Three Ships Alliance, which managed to counteract the threats on the civilian population and put an end to the war, in September, Cosmic Era 71. CE 73 After the war, the TSA went again underground. The ''Eternal'' and ''Archangel'' were hidden, and most of the crews moved to Orb, under pseudonyms. After the Second Bloody Valentine War, new factions of Orb's government manipulated it into joining the Earth Alliance, and the Clyne Faction members in Orb took the ''Archangel'' and Freedom (both hidden in secret facilities in Orb) and fled. While the ''Eternal'' had a quiet role in the war to date, the ''Archangel'' actively tried to intervene in EA-ZAFT battles that involved the Orb fleet, with Cagalli Yula Athha trying to appeal to the Orb soldiers to leave the battle. Though the Archangel was joined by a large number of Orb officers and pilots from the sunken Orb carrier Takemikazuchi, ultimately their attempts failed and their interventionist policies have created tension between both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT, and they have undoubtedly caused chaos on the battlefield. Seeing that the Clyne Faction would not be able to achieve their objectives alone, Lacus Clyne relocated to the newly created Terminal organization and its covert orbital factory to oversee its operations. Under her supervision, Terminal constructed new advanced mobile suits - the ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice, and Strike Freedom, as well as the obtaining of the ZGMF-X88S Gaia, and the obtaining and completion of the three prototype ZGMF-XX09T DOM Trooper units. At a later stage in the war, the ''Archangel'' and ZAFT's battleship ''Minerva'' joined forces and fought together against the Earth Alliance's prototype mobile fortress, the GFAS-X1 Destroy. However, ZAFT chairman Gilbert Durandal, fearing the Clyne Faction's potential interference in his plans, declared them to be an enemy of ZAFT and justifying their decision by citing the group's numerous interferences in ZAFT battles. The ''Minerva'' later participated in Operation "Angel Down", with the objective of destroying the ''Archangel''. During this conflict, ''Minerva'' fired its positron cannon on the fleeing ''Archangel'', and Impulse was able to defeat Freedom with the clever tactics of its pilot Shinn Asuka using Kira Yamato's unwillingness to kill, as the Freedom's pilot. However, the ''Archangel'' managed to survive despite being badly damaged while the Freedom was destroyed. Kira Yamato, was saved by Cagalli in the MBF-02 Strike Rouge and the ''Archangel'' then continues en route to Orb. The Archangel finally arrives at Orb, where it is repaired in a secret base by Morgenroete. ZAFT discovered the presence of the Terminal Factory (which also hid the ''Eternal'') and sent a force of three Nazca class battleships to attack it. With the ZGMF-X88S Gaia the only functional mobile suit (and piloted by Andrew Waltfeld), the factory was heavily out-numbered so ''Eternal'' in an attempt to draw the ZAFT forces away from it, and prepared to drop the newly-completed ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice and ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom towards Orb should the ship be lost. Fortunately, Kira Yamato arrived in the MBF-02 Strike Rouge via an orbital booster and, after taking possession of the ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom, defeated all of the pursuing ZAFT forces. A short time later, during ZAFT's assault on Orb (codenamed Operation Fury), the Archangel participated in the defense of Orb. Meanwhile, Kira Yamato in the ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom departed the Eternal and made an unassisted re-entry to help in the battle, while towing the ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice (which was being "ridden" by Lacus Clyne) on order to deliver it to Athrun Zala. The three ZGMF-XX09T DOM Trooper units also participated, arriving from the Eternal via an orbital drop pod. Together with the Archangel, the Eternal's mobile suits successfully defended Orb. After Cagalli regained control over Orb, the crew of the Archangel were formally included into the Orb military. After Durandal exposes his Destiny Plan, The Orb space fleet (including the Archangel, the Kusanagi, and two of the Kusanagi's sister ships), the Eternal, and Terminal-supporting ships from both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance, along with the Kusanagi's sister ships, set out to oppose Durandal's Destiny Plan. The group once again had the distinction of helping to end the war, when the ORB-01 Akatsuki and ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice destroyed the Requiem superweapon, and the ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom destroyed the Messiah mobile space fortress. see also ja:三隻同盟 In Japanese Non-governmental organizations Adukurf Mechano-Industries Adukurf Mechano-Industries is a company specializing in the development of large scale mobile armors. It is run by a wealthy and mysterious industrialist known as Matias Adukurf who is associated with the Earth Alliance and Logos. Aktaeon Industries Aktaeon Industries is Morgenroete's rival competitor. Aktaeon attempted to hire Serpent Tail mercenary Gai Murakumo to sell his MBF-P03 Astray Blue Frame's data, but Gai refuses. Aktaeon nearly forced Junk Guild member Lowe Guele to sell his MBF-P02 Astray Red Frame by luring him with a selection of mobile suits and mobile armors and trapping him, and his fellow Junk Guild members in a weapons testing room. Lowe escapes and forces the unnamed executive into paying what the Junk Guild brought. Aktaeon built its first mobile suit, Gel Fineto, equipped with the Mirage Colloid Virus Spreader in CE 71. In CE 73, Aktaeon was hired by the Atlantic Federation to upgrade the G Project mobile suits designed and built by Morgenroete, into the GAT-X1022 Blue Duel, GAT-X103AP Verde Buster, GAT-X105E Strike Noir, GAT-X207SR Nero Blitz, and the GAT-X303AA Rosso Aegis. Aktaeon is known for its bribery by attracting with huge sums of money. Desert Dawn The Desert Dawn is a resistance group in ZAFT-occupied Northern Africa. The group is led by Sahib Ashman and its members are recruited from nearby towns like Tassil, Moula, and the city of Banadiya. They were assisted by the Archangel to free North Africa from ZAFT control. GARM R&D GARM R&D (Genetic Advanced Reproductive Medical Research & Development) was a research institute based at the Mendel colony. It was a leading specialist in Coordinator production until it was abandoned after a biohazard outbreak in CE 68. Junk Guild The Junk Guild is an NGO devoted to the upkeep, maintenance, and salvage of the technology forming the infrastructure of Cosmic Era society. Thanks to the work of Reverend Malchio, the Junk Guild has non-aggression treaties with all three major factions (Earth Alliance, ZAFT, and Orb) - any person or vessel that bears the emblem of the Junk Guild cannot be denied entry to any treaty signatory, as long as they obey the laws within (though they may be restricted as to where they may go - ZAFT, for example, does not allow Junk Guild members onto the PLANTs unless they are granted special permission). The Junk Guild is rather decentralized - while there is an overseeing body that governs the Guild as a whole, most of the work is done by small teams of technicians who act independently. Most Junk Guild teams spend their days either going through battlefields salvaging usable equipment or working under contract. Contracts can vary from salvage operations to repair to recovery of equipment. Large contracts may necessitate multiple Guild teams - it is not uncommon to see a large contingent of Guild techs working on major projects, such as the Giga-Float mobile mass driver. The Guild espouses non-violence - Guild techs will only fight to defend themselves, and even then will refrain from killing unless there is no other option. Unlike the nations of the world, who prefer to standardize their equipment, Junk Guild equipment is an eclectic mix of whatever they can afford/repair/salvage. It is not uncommon to see a Guild team using an assortment of repair pods and salvaged ZAFT mobile suits for work in space. Teams tend to stick with lightly armored and armed vessels as bases of operation in space, as they place a premium on cargo space as opposed to combat ability. On Earth, retrofitted military transports are often used - the ''Lesseps''-class transport is popular with the Guild, thanks to its large cargo bay and ease of retrofitting for repair duties - the turrets on the top deck can easily be replaced with manipulator arms. The Guild acquires new recruits from all walks of life, Natural and Coordinator alike. New recruits undergo basic training and indoctrination, then are sent to a team for on the job training. After a probationary period, the Guild then accepts the recruit as a Guild tech, and they are assigned to a team. Because Junk Techs tend to trust each other (lacking a reason to do otherwise), it is occasionally possible to infiltrate the Junk Guild, as Juri Wu Nien did in an attempt to steal the Red Frame. During the Bloody Valentine War, the Junk Guild team led by "The Professor" discovered the Astray project and recovered the MBF-P02 Astray Red Frame. It was later revealed that the discovery was in fact a result of the Professor's long-time friend Erica Simmons informing her of the Astrays and asking her to recover them. The Professor's team was not informed of this until months later, when they entered Orb territorial waters and met with Dr. Simmons. Near the end of the war, Reverend Malchio made arrangements for the Junk Guild to aid Three Ship Alliance in a non-combat capacity. The Junk Guild space vessel ReHOME served as a tender ship for the Three Ship Alliance until the end of the war. Morgenroete Morgenroete Incorporated (its name is German for "dawn") is a semi-nationalized military contractor based in the Orb Union, with facilities in both the Orb Union proper and at the Orb-owned space colony of Heliopolis. Though part of the neutral nation of Orb, Morgenroete has been secretly collaborating with the Atlantic Federation in its work on new prototype mobile weapons called Gundams under the sponsorship of the Sahaku noble family. During construction, Morgenroete did get intelligence on the prototypes which was used in their own Astray program, but it cost Orb its space colony of Heliopolis when a ZAFT commando team entered and escaped with four of the five Gundams built. Beam weapons, second-generation Mobile Suit Operating Systems, the Lohengrin positron blaster gun (later adapted by ZAFT as the Tannhäuser installed in the bow of the experimental assault ship Minerva), Phase Shift armor and the Mirage Colloid cloaking device were all developed at Morgenroete either entirely or in part during the war or immediately after, partly under the aegis of chief designer Erica Simmons. More esoteric technologies were also developed at Morgenroete under the aegis of the Sahaku twins, including energy-draining weaponry. Serpent Tail The Serpent Tail is a mercenary group that uses Earth Alliance and ZAFT equipment to get the job done. They have always taken on a job by the highest bidder, and have almost always gotten the job done. Their leader is a Combat Coordinator named Gai Murakumo, who escaped from the Earth Alliance and broke free of his mental conditioning. Gai pilots one of the three Orb Astray prototypes, the rebuilt MBF-P03 Astray Blue Frame Second L, and is considered by many to be the deadliest warrior in the Earth Sphere. This mercenary company has no government whatsoever, and is split up into teams. Gai's team operates from either a captured ''Laurasia''-class frigate or an unmarked civilian freighter, and his subordinates consist of fellow pilot and wingman Elijah Kiel, the ship's captain and intelligence operative Reed Wheeler, explosives expert and tactician Loretta Aja, and client liaison Kazahana Aja. Terminal Terminal is a non-government affiliated organization which exchanges information with all parties, as well as performing some degree of intelligence evaluation. Although it can viewed as a benevolent underground organization, it seems to be simply a guild of information dealers. While spear-headed by the Clyne Faction, Terminal has kept a low profile and remained neutral throughout the most of the second war. Terminal's agents operated all over the world and its information capabilities rival that of a national intelligence agency although much of their organization and operation still remains unknown. The only base known to be controlled by Terminal is a mobile suit factory & base hidden in an asteroid in a debris field. World Security Treaty Organization Founded following the Break the World incident, the World Security Treaty Organization was created to assist with disaster relief and regional stabilization. Although a separate entity from the Earth Alliance, nations that join the Organization become, more or less, allies of the Atlantic Federation. The following nations were all members of the World Security Treaty Organization at its inception: Atlantic Federation, Eurasian Federation, Republic of East Asia, United States of South America, South African Union, Orb Union, Kingdom of Scandinavia and the Equatorial Union. Only the Oceania Union and African Community chose not to join. See also *地球連合軍|地球連合軍 - 地球联合 *プラント (機動戦士ガンダムSEED)|プラント - P.L.A.N.T *ザフト|ザフト - ZAFT *オーブ連合首長国|オーブ連合首長国 *三隻同盟|三隻同盟 *ブルーコスモス|ブルーコスモス External links * Map of Earth nations showing alliances and factions * Map of Earth military bases * Map showing location of Orb * Map location of space colonies with respect to Earth's orbit *